Atlantic County woman admits to abandoning newborn

MAYS LANDING -- An Atlantic County woman who gave birth as a teenager admitted placing her newborn in a trash bin.

Twenty-year-old Simone Walker pleaded guilty Monday to endangering the welfare of a child. The resident of Hamilton Township said she believed the boy was stillborn in December 2006 when she put him in a trash container.

The baby was rescued and now lives with his father.

Authorities are recommending Walker get a 3-year prison sentence. But as part of a plea deal she can apply for an intensive supervision program that would allow her out of jail within nine months.